Free Speech in the Workplace: Caution and Advice
Key Takeaways: An employee is not entitled to unrestricted free speech in the workplace under the U.S. Constitution Employers should carefully craft policies regulating acceptable and unacceptable forms of speech in the workplace Employers should be careful to avoid restricting employee speech that is specifically protected under state and federal law With any change in political climate, it is hard for employers to navigate the statements of employees, both during the workday and their off time. Employees who make their political positions public often point to the First Amendment — “free speech” — falsely believing that this would allow them to make any statement, unrestricted, in any location and under any circumstance. However, employers should understand what protections do and do not apply in the workplace and should review or create policies and procedures in dealing with employee speech. Generally speaking, the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution does not apply to private ...